From a Certain Point of View reminds me a lot of the Tales From books in the now defunct Star Wars EU. Where those books took a specific scene, like the Mos Eisley cantina or Jabba's palace, and told the stories of the different characters at those locations, this book tackles the entire movie. Here, instead of choosing an iconic clip and expounding on five or six characters, almost every side character seen in The Empire Strikes Back gets some extra screen time. And when I say everyone, I mean it.
From a Certain Point of View will not only touch on the various rebels, storm troopers, imperial officers, and scoundrels that make up the background of Episode V, it will also give many creatures a story. This includes everyone from Han's tauntaun, the wampa that attacks Luke, the asteroid-dwelling exogorth that consumes the Millennium Falcon, and even the Dark Side-infused cave that Yoda sends Luke into on Dagobah. The writers that collaborated to make this edition really seemed to have free range to tackle any and all minor or secondary characters the movie presented. There is even a short, one-page comic showing exactly what happened to R2-D2 when he fell into the Dagobah swamp.
Of course, the animals of the film aren't the only characters we get to see more of. There is one story of Admiral Ozzel's inner monologue as he is choked by Darth Vader after failing him for the last time, and another of the newly-promoted Admiral Piett soon after that event. There are stories of the rebels who made Echo Base their home until the Empire's attack, and in those stories we see the evacuation of Hoth from several interesting perspectives.
While the Falcon is in Cloud City, we get treated to stories of the workers as their lives change with Vader's arrival. These range from bounty hunter wannabes, to smugglers looking for the next job, to normal workers who have to decide between leaving or trying to continue their business under the Empire. One particular story from that section I enjoyed was about a person who lived in Cloud City and, in his delusional mind, he is the ruler of Cloud City and Lando is just his regent. King Yathros Condorius the First feels the dashing Baron Administrator is not making good choices when it comes to the Empire's newly established presence.
I also enjoyed some of the stories that were written in this book that were from characters' perspectives who did not actually have an appearance. The anthology opens up to an imperial officer whose team scans the readings from the thousands of probe droids sent out, in the hopes of finding the elusive rebels. In another, a scientist on Hoth relays his research about the strange biomes on the frozen world. My favorite of these focuses on Lando's chef on Cloud City who is tasked with trying to determine the proper menu for the cybernetic right hand of the Emperor as Lando is forced to host Darth Vader for a very important dinner.
While there are no stories in this volume that put the primary characters in the pilot seat (so to speak), there are some major characters that have a story of their own. In one, Emperor Palpatine has a vision of Luke and Darth Vader defeating him, in another, Obi-Wan (as a Force Ghost) talks to Luke and Yoda as Luke leaves Dagobah. Yoda himself has a story just as Luke touches down near his swamp and, while not mentioned in The Empire Strikes Back, L3-37 from Solo, now uploaded to the Falcon's computer, helps guide Han to Cloud City and tries to get the ship repaired while hoping for a chance to see her old friend, Lando.
When I review anthology books, I try to touch on everything, but given there are 40 different stories in this book's 500+ pages, there are just aspects I will end up missing. One of the bigger stories in this book follows Wedge after leaving Hoth as he is tasked with building a new squadron of X-Wing pilots. Another focuses on Bossk just before the Empire calls out for bounty hunters. There is a story focusing on Boba Fett, while another has Dengar and IG-88 teaming up. There's even a story focusing on the imperial officer responsible for dumping the trash before the star destroyer goes into hyperspace. This book touches on so many aspects of the film, it's truly unreal.
Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back is a stunning and well-tailored collection of stories that any fan of the franchise would enjoy picking through. When Disney took over the franchise, it removed decades of character and world development. Since then, through more movies, TV series and comics, a lot of new Canon has replaced the old Legends lore. Short story collections like this only help to add to the rebuilding of that world and it does so in a very enjoyable manner.
